Stranger
by lndigo
Summary: FAXNESS. Fang and Max finally confess their love for one another, and spend a night in a hotel room together. When Fang gets kidnapped by the school, he returns a bitter stranger. Will Max still be able to love him? Chapter 8 is up! chapter 3 is edited.
1. Birthdays

**Author's Note: This is my first fic ever, so it may suck completely, but I hope it's at least ok. Please R&R! I promise there will be Faxness later. **

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"_Fang!" I was screaming. "Fang! No!" He was being carried off, up into the sky by the Erasers, by Ari. Fang was limp, his eyes glazed and unfocused. _

"_No!" I screamed again, and jumped into the air, trying to follow. My right wing hurt like hell. I couldn't move it. I crashed back to earth, skinning my knees and hands. "You'll pay for this Ari. I swear, you will pay for this, you bast- _

Then the pain hit me, and jackknifed into a sitting position on the hotel-room bed, clutching my head so that bits of my brain wouldn't go flying everywhere.

_Please, please, please, let me die soon so this pain will stop!_ I was dimly aware of a warm arm around my shoulder, and soft words being spoken in my ear, but my mind was too filled with the cloud of my agony to make them out. Half-formed images danced before my eyes, of natural disasters and bombs exploding. I heard millions of voices screaming in my ears, begging for help. I saw two pairs of lips crashing together and a snarling Eraser's face in my mind. It ended as suddenly as it had begun, and I slumped back against my pillow.

"The pain again?" Fang asked.

I nodded, biting my lips to keep from crying. Little stabs of pain kept flaring behind my eyes, and I was working hard to keep from losing my lunch. That is, If I had eaten lunch. I rolled out of bed, and scampered to the bathroom, crouching over the toilet. Fang followed me, and held my hair out of my face as I barfed my guts up.

"Thanks." I muttered weakly. He looked me in the eye, and suddenly his face was very close to mine. I swallowed.

"No problem." He said, and turned away, leaving me to stagger back to bed.

Yes, I did say bed. After we blew up Itex and such, my Flock and I had flown west. All the way west out to Hawaii, in fact. I figured we needed a break, after everything that had happened. I splurged, and now we were staying in a cheap hotel on the big island. It was pretty surreal. You know the weirdest thing? Nothing happened. Nothing at all. No Erasers, no brain attacks (until now), not even a witty comment from Iggy. Hard to believe, right?

_No, Max, wrong. It's perfectly believable to assume that nothing happened._ Crud. That was the know-it –all Voice.

_Shut up._ I thought to it. To my utter shock and astonishment, (Note sarcasm) it kept talking.

_I've been giving you a break, Maximum, but you must come to terms with your destiny sometimes. _

I moaned and rubbed my temples.

"What?" asked Fang, resting a very warm hand on my shoulder. "The Voice again?"

"Yeah" I answered. "It's nagging me about that 'save the world' junk again." To my Voice, I thought: _Why can't you just leave me alone? I'm only a fourteen-year old kid! _

_A kid who's destined to save the world. And you're fifteen, Maximum. Today is your birthday._ My surprise must have shown on my face, because Fang once again asked "What?"He almost looked impatient. I say almost, because, Fang being Fang, he never shows any emotion. " The Voice just gave me a straight answer." I said, shocked. "It said that today is my birthday."

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**I cleaned that chapter up a bit, because it was bugging me with all my clumsy typos. Chappie 9 coming soon! Review please!**


	2. Cake and Secrets

**Ok, so I know the last one was a wee bit short, so I'll try to make this one longer. **

**And I forgot the disclaimer lat time, so: **

**Disclaimer: It's not mine. (Except the plot, so NO STEALING! Or else…)**

"Happy Birthday Max!" Angel came running to me at top speed as I left the hotel elevator. I hugged her, and then ruffled her blond curls lightly. "Thanks, sweetie." I replied, walking across the hotel lobby to where the flock was sitting down to their breakfast.

"Huh?" Gazzy looked confused. "I thought that Max's birthday wasn't until March."

"The Voice told me this morning." I told him. "I'm fifteen today."

"Oh my god! Max that's, like, so cool. You should get a cake, and we can get you presents and it would be so awesome, and you know once…" I'll give you five guesses as to who that was. I clapped a hand over Nudge's mouth to halt the flow of information.

"Sorry Nudge, but no presents or cake for me. We just can't afford it." Even with my new Max card, we weren't sure just how much money we really had, and if it was legal, although legal has never bothered to us much before.

"Oh, but please?" She begged "Even just a cake? It's your birthday, Max!"

_Ok, don't look at her, don't look at her. Darn! I looked!_ She had given me the Bambi eyes. _Great._ I sighed. "Ok, Nudge, we'll get a cake."

"Yes!" She exclaimed, punching the air with a fist. Was it just me, or was Nudge a little more hyper than usual?

About 20 minutes flying time later, we located a grocery store near the coast of another tiny little Hawaiian island. "Ok guys, who wants chocolate?" I asked, holding up a large, frosted cake.

"Chocolate!" Total yelped indignantly. "Are you _trying_ to kill me?" Yes, we still had the dumb dog. "Look Total," Angel soothed. "I'm sure Max didn't mean any offense. Some people like chocolate cake."

_Yeah, like, most humans, for example. _I thought, rolling my eyes.

"Hey Max, can we get a cheesecake?" the Gasman asked. "It's not that much more money."

I glanced at the price sticker. "Sure Gazzy, we can get two."

"Yes!" Nudge shouted, then launched into a chant. "We're gettin' cheesecake, we're gettin' cheesecake…" Wow, something was sure making that girl hyper. I wasn't really sure I wanted to give her more sugar.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmm…" I groaned in pleasure. Next to cookies with Dr. Martinez, this was the best thing I had ever eaten. "This is so good." I mumbled over a mouthful of velvety cake. "So sweet yet so rich. What do you think, Fang?"

"'s ok." He said. Sometimes his eloquence amazes me. Not

"Come on, Fang. The best cake we've ever eaten, and all you can say is its 'ok'?"

"'s ok" he repeated. As predicted, Nudge had become even more hyper with sugar in her bloodstream. She alternated between whispering conspiratorially with Angel, and bouncing off the walls. I had finally got enough. "ok Nudge, out with it. What is making you so hyper?"

Nudge grinned. "Can't tell you. It's a secret."

"Angel," I asked "do you know?" She opened her mouth to answer, then glanced at Fang, who was glaring. "Sorry Max." she said. "Sworn to secrecy." She smiled, then went back to feeding Total cheesecake. _Please?_ I asked her in my mind. She ignored me.

I went down and sat beside Fang. "Do you know what's up with those two?" I queried.

He spread his hands, the picture of innocence.

"Liar." I said, and punched him lightly on the arm. "C'mon, tell me."

_Sometimes Max, you just have to live with not knowing._ My Voice oh-so-helpfully chimed in.

**So, how was that chappie? Still to short? I tried to do the page break thingy, but my computer is still being retarded, so I'll try to have that fixed. Please Review!**


	3. Surprises

**Disclaimer: I don't own any awesome and sarcastic winged children. They're JP's headache.**

"Awwww, Gazzy! That was GROSS!!!"

"Couldn't you have gone into the bathroom or something?"

"Ok, who let him eat 8 pieces of cheesecake?"

Gazzy grinned. "It was you who let me get cheesecake, Max."

"Touché." I agreed. The kid had a point. "But next time Gaz, you might want to leave the lobby before you let it rip. I think that girl over there is about to pass out."

We had just returned from; get this; a _normal day._ A nice, normal afternoon at the beach. I was ready to freak out. I felt like there was tension, just underneath this tranquility. It like an overfilled water balloon, ready to pop. Except in our case, the water balloon wouldn't just pop, it would explode. Yep, that's me, little Miss Sunshine.

"Hey Max? I'm hungry." Nudge said, predictably. She seemed to have worked off all her hyper energy at the beach.

"Can me and Angel and Gazzy get something from the vending machine down the hall?" She asked.

"You could get Iggy to take us if you're worried." Angel chipped in, reading my mind.

I frowned. Something didn't seem right about this, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Whatever. Nudge was just hungry. She always was. "Fine," I said, digging some quarters out of my pocket. "But go with Iggy, and don't spend too much, ok?"

Nudge nodded eagerly, and then went off in search of Iggy, with Angel and the Gasman in tow.

* * *

The elevator dinged, and Fang and I stepped into the car.

"Why do I think that was engineered?" I asked him. He only shrugged, and gave me one of his rare, attractive smiles. My heart quickened at the- _No, bad Max! You don't like him that way. He's like your brother. _

_Everyone has to grow up sometime, Max. _Stupid Voice.

_Shut up. _I told it. I swear, if it could've chuckled, it would have.

"Max?" Fang sounded concerned.

"I'm fine."

"Good."

And then it suddenly became awkward. I think that was one of the longest, most awkward silences I've ever heard. The elevator dinged, and we disembarked, heading for the room that we shared. Then Fang decided he would start up the conversation again.

"Hey, uh, Max… there's uh, I mean..." he was stammering. Fang_ never_ stammers. How many more surprises was I going to get in this crazy day?

"There's, there's something I've, uh, been meaning to tell… um…" Then he kissed me, briefly and on the lips. "Happy Birthday." He said, and started to walk away.

"Hey, um, Fang, wait." Eloquent, eh? I ran after him for a few steps. When I caught up with him, I kissed him back. I pulled back, and he looked into my eyes for a long moment, and then kissed me again. His lips were soft on mine, and warm. His arms were slowly making their way around my waist, as mine were going around his neck. I grasped his bottom lips, pulling him closer into me. His tongue was tickling my lip, asking for an invitation…

* * *

"Whoa, Max! Fang! What?" Oh crud. The flock was here. Fang and I jumped apart, cracking our foreheads together in the process. "Ahhh! Ow!"

I scanned their faces. Nudge was giggling, Angel had a little smile on, Gazzy was grossed out, and Iggy was looking rather impatient. "Would someone _please _explain why Nudge is snickering?" He asked, tapping his foot.

"Fang and Max, sitting' in a tree, kay-eye-ess-ess-eye-en-geee!" Nudge was beside herself with laughter.

"Oh," said Iggy, smirking. "That explains it."

"Hey, Nudge, _I told you so!_" Angel said. "You owe me five bucks!"

I was incredulous. "What? You knew?" You had a_ bet?_" Why hadn't Angel told me?

"Yep. I overheard Fang thinking about you, so I was going to tell you, but Fang figured out I knew first. He had to tell you tonight, or I would."

"So you tell Nudge?" That still didn't explain why Angel had a bet.

"Well, she's like, the worst secret keeper ever, but she didn't believe me, so we made a bet."

True. Nudge is pretty bad at keeping secrets. Well, some secrets. "Fine. But I'm going to bed. It's an early morning tomorrow. We need to get back to the mainland." We had decided that afternoon that we were leaving Hawaii. It had been a nice vacation, but the Erasers were bound to find us some time. I preferred to fight them where we had room to run away, if necessary. "Get some sleep, guys." Grumbling, they all turned around and went into their own rooms. Iggy was with Gazzy, Angel was with Nudge, which meant, yep, you guessed it, Fang was rooming with me. And there was only one bed. This was going to get awkward.

* * *

Fang sat down on the bed almost at the same time I did.

"So now what?" he said.

"I don't know." Like I said, awkward. His hand was beside him on the bed, inching toward mine.

"Max, you look like a crushing sheep." He said, almost cracking up.

"Baaaah!" I replied, and stuck my tongue out at him. "I'm so sheep-like, the Red Haired Wonder would be jealous, huh Fang?" Fang blushed. Yep, he actually _blushed._ How's that for surprising?

"Well," he said, "If you get to bring up Lissa, then I get to bring up Sam."

I kicked him in the ankle. He kicked back, so I grabbed his feet between mine. He started tickling me. (On the stomach, get your minds out of the gutter.)

"No…fair!" I managed between giggles. Iggy pounded on the wall from the next room. "Guys, it's barely even dark!" He called. We could hear Gazzy starting to cackle through the wall. Oh boy. I had a feeling that Fang and I would be the butt of many cruel and perverted jokes in the near future. Meanwhile, I was laughing so hard I couldn't even give a witty retort. I lay flat on my back, Fang still tickling me mercilessly. "Fang… stop that… can't breathe…ooof!" He was sitting on my stomach, leaning over so that our faces were nearly touching. He waited until I got my breath back, then kissed me. Any hope of coherent thought I had flew out the window. When we finally drew apart, he told me, softly, "The Red Haired Wonder has nothing on you."

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"_You will pay for this, Ari, I swear-"_ I woke up, trying to sit, but something strong was holding me down, pinning me to a solid wall behind me. I struggled harder, and found that the wall was moving. It was almost as if… Oh. It was Fang. Right.

"Max?" He asked sleepily. "What's wrong?" He released me from how he had been holding me, his arm around my waist.

"A nightmare, that's all." I told him. "You were being captured by Ari."

He brushed his lips across my forehead. "I'll never let that happen Max, I promise. Go back to sleep."

I looked at the clock. It was 2 a.m. "I know." I said, snuggling into his chest. "I just… worry, that's all."

He brushed my hair out of my eyes. "Never worry, Max. Never worry about me."

With those words, we both went to sleep.

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**As I said, revised. C'est tres drole, est-ce que tu pense? I think that means "it's very funny, don't you think?" Ahhh!!! Darn the basic French courses! I know no grammar! (No offense Mme. G) and by the way, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ('cause evil laughter still rules!) **


	4. A Promise Broken

**Oh my gosh! 19 reviews! I'm thrilled. Thank you, reviewers. One more and I'll have a perfect 20. Oh, by the way, if you were waiting for some actual _drama_, here you go!**

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Beep! Beep! Beep! The blaring alarm clock roused me from my slumber. I slapped it, fumbling for the snooze button. It kept beeping at me. I slammed my fist down on top of it. It kept beeping at me. Losing patience, I ripped it out of the wall and threw it across the room. It stopped beeping at me.

"Little testy this morning, aren't we?" Fang remarked.

"Good morning to you too." I said dryly. "What time is it?"

"Well, if you hadn't thrown the clock against the wall, we would know, wouldn't we?"

I hit him with a pillow. "Shut up and help me wake up the flock."

"Did you just hit me with a pillow?"

I ignored him, and got out of bed, promptly tripping over my shirt, which was on the floor. I didn't exactly remember how it had gotten onto the floor though. Then I realized that both Fang and I were shirtless. Grabbing my shirt, I flung it on, not noticing that it was black instead of its usual blue. Fang got out of bed, and my eye was immediately drawn to his well-defined stomach. He noticed me staring.

"Max, you're-"

"Well, uh, I got to go wake the flock, bye!" I interrupted, and rushed out the door. I had a key for all three of the rooms we had rented, but in my hurry to leave, I had forgotten the key to Iggy and Gazzy's room. I rapped loudly on their door. "C'mon guys, up and at it!" Muffled groans came from the interior. "Max, it's six in the morning!" Gazzy protested.

"Come on, we've got a long flight ahead of us!" I called back. I heard a thump as Iggy walked straight into a wall. "I'm ok!" he called.

I took it as a sign that they were sufficiently vertical, and went on to the girls' room. As I unlocked the door, I called to them. "Come on, out of bed you two. It's morning."

Nudge groaned and flicked on a light. "Why can't we sleep in for once?" she asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "She looked at me, then blinked. "Max, why are you wearing Fang's shirt? You're not… oh eww! Sick!"

I looked down. Crap. I had grabbed the wrong shirt by accident. "Relax Nudge; I just put on the wrong shirt. I have jeans underneath, see?" I lifted up the shirt, which hung almost to my knees. Nudge managed to look both disturbed and dubious at the same time. "Ok Max, if you say so." She said, and raised herself out of bed, while Angel got out of her bed. _Wait! They_ _have two beds in their room! Not fair._

_I didn't see you complaining, Maximum. Not that I was there._The Voice said

_What do you mean, you weren't there?_

_Has it ever occurred to you that I might not always like to see what you're seeing?_

I almost laughed out loud.

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I left their room and returned to my own. Fang was sitting on the bed, waiting. "You took my shirt." He said, looking slightly peeved.

"Well, I didn't mean to." I answered. "Where's mine?"

Fang pointed. It was beneath the alarm clock on the floor. I snatched it up, and pulled Fang's shirt over my head, tossing it to him. He was staring at my chest. "Fang, you're-"

"Well, I'd better get down for breakfast, see you later Max." He interrupted, dashing out of the room with his shirt half on. I giggled as I pulled my shirt on. For all his seriousness, Fang could be ridiculous sometimes.

* * *

"Hey Max, what's make-" I clapped a hand over Angels mouth. We were all waiting in line for the breakfast buffet. Not that there was much of a line at 6:15 in the morning.

"Angel, please don't read my mind this morning." I said. "And I wasn't even thinking about that."

"I was reading Fang's thoughts though." she said.

"Oh, you don't want to do that Angel. They're definitely on my list on things six year olds shouldn't know about." Iggy sniggered.

_Oh boy._ I thought._ The jokes begin._ Wait a minute; Fang was still thinking about that? I swear, boys have one-track minds.

"Fang is still thinking about what, Max? Tell me!" Angel begged.

" I'll tell you later Angel." I answered. Oh, great. I got to give a six year old TheTalk Not that Fang and I had done everything covered in TheTalk, but if Angel knew about one thing, she would probably ask to be told about the rest.

"So Fang, how's Max?" Iggy joked.

I glared at him, which did nothing, Iggy being blind. "You suck." I informed him. Fang cringed at my choice of words.

Iggy grinned evilly. "No, Max, I don't suck. But you do."

I rolled my eyes, and glared at him some more. "Not even." I said. "If looks could kill, you'd be worm food right now."

Iggy grinned wider. "Do I even have to spell that one out for you?" He said, cackling at his own joke. Nudge and Total were laughing too, while the younger ones just looked lost. "Ha ha, very funny." I said dryly. "But eat up you guys, we've got a long flight ahead of us." That made Iggy laugh even harder. I suddenly had the urge to bang my head against the nearest wall.

"Look," Fang spoke up. "We haven't done anything like that, so shut up, perv." He cuffed Iggy across the temple. Iggy calmed down a bit, but he was still giggling. " Worm food." he chuckled. I sighed and shook my head. This was going to be a very long day.

* * *

We were flying over the open ocean. I love, love, _love _flying. Even Iggy's periodic jokes couldn't completely spoil my good mood. They could however, make me very irritated. "Iggy, for the hundredth time, quit it with the jokes." I shouted over the wind. "It's getting very annoying." He smirked. He knew how I was glaring at him right now, and he didn't care.

"But Max," he said. "What if they're true?"

"They're definitely not true, so give it a rest." I called back.

"Hey Max, will you tell me what Fang was thinking about now?" That was Angel. Crud.

"Sure sweetie. I'll tell you in my head, ok?" I told her.

"Ok Max." She said, smiling sweetly at me. I was just glad I didn't have to talk to Nudge. too. Jeb had given her TheTalkwhen she was nine.

After I was finished, Angel looked thoroughly grossed out.

"So that's what you did with Fang?" she asked, disturbed.

"No, not all of it, just… some." I answered quickly. "Definitely not all of it."

"Ok." she said. "Hey Max, can I carry Total for a bit?" she asked, her mind flitting to other, more six-year-oldish things.

"I don't see why not." I said, and chucked the dog at her. Total free-fell for a second or two, then Angel swooped down and caught him neatly in her arms.

"Hey, Max look! I see land!" Nudge called out. I looked. There was a line along the horizon, with a faint tinge of green.

"I think that's the mainland, Nudge. Good eyes."

"Wahoo! Land ho!" cried the Gasman, his fist punching the air.

"I don't think that's the only kind of ho I can see." Iggy said.

I rolled my eyes again. "I hate to break it to you Iggy, but you're _blind._"

"No freaking kidding." He retorted.

I sighed. Glaring at him was getting so old.

* * *

We landed in a forest just off the Californian coast. Did you know they have forests in California? I sure didn't.

"Ok guys, someone get a fire going." I called. "I'll go and gather more wood. Anyone coming with me?"

"I'll go." Fang volunteered. Iggy snickered.

"God, Iggy, shut the he-heck up!" I snarled. In case you hadn't noticed, he had been more than a little annoying today, and I was getting a headache.

"Fine, Max, jeez, take it easy." Iggy spread his hands out in front of him, the very picture of innocence.

I massaged my temples. Why couldn't our string of good, easy days have continued just a little longer?

"Ok, I'm going. Are you coming Fang?" I jumped into the air, hovering about 20 feet above their heads. He followed me, and we flew off deeper into the woods.

* * *

"Ok, how much wood have we got? Enough?" We were sitting in a huge old oak tree, each with an armful of sticks and branches.

"Yeah, I figure we should have enough for tonight." Fang answered. There was a strange expression in his eyes. Well, actually, _any_ expression is strange for Fang, but still…

"Fang, what's up?" I asked.

"Oh, um, not much, I guess."

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

He smoothed a wisp of hair out of my eyes. "You're so beautiful, Max."

He leaned close, our faces almost touching. But just as our lips were about to meet, we heard a scream from the direction of camp.

"Max! Fang! HELP!" That was Nudge's voice, made shrill with panic.

"Erasers!" That was Gazzy.

Without a moment of thought, Fang and I both leaped out of the tree, snapping our wings out. We sped towards the place where we had left the Flock, raw fear invading my mind.

We reached camp within two minutes. The Flock were holding their own, but they couldn't do that forever. I dove right in, doling out punches left and right as I did a quick head count. All accounted for and healthy enough. I kicked an Eraser in the head, and down he went, spinning as he plummeted.

My Voice said, and I unquestioningly obeyed, narrowly avoiding a large furry paw directed at my cranium. I flew up, causing two Erasers to fly into one another. They were getting better at flying, but they were still nowhere near as nimble as we were.

_Help Fang._ It ordered. I hesitated. Surely Fang could take care of himself in a fight.

_Help Fang NOW, or you will live to regret it. _I made a snap decision. I flew higher, scanning the fight for signs of… there! I flew over, just in time to see Fang take a punch to the jaw from Ari. Ari jabbed him with a little dart, and Fang fell, unconscious. I was utterly speechless. It was my dream, happening right here in front of me. I hovered, eyes not believing the spectacle in front of me. Ari was flying away, Fang's head lolling on his shoulder. No, no, this couldn't be happening. A heavy blow to my wing shook me out of my disbelief, but to late. I heard something snap, and I fell, wing screaming with pain. I hit the ground with a thump, and my leg buckled under me. I was yelling. "You'll pay for this Ari. I swear, you will pay for this, you bast-" Pain from my wing and leg overwhelmed me, and I slumped to the ground, out cold.

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**So, that one was a little longer. I wonder, does California even have forests? Please correct me if I'm wrong. Please push that little purplish-bluish-purple button and REVIEW! (Please?)**


	5. The Curse

**Thank you sooooooooooo much to all those people who added me to favorite author/story, and alerts. I'm glad you like it! And of course, my reviewers! 30! Thanks! **

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"Shhh!! She's still asleep! Be quiet!"

"No, look, she's waking up!"

"Finally!"

I groaned and groggily opened my eyes. Four anxious faces peered down into my face, doing a dizzying dance before they settled down into their rightful shapes. A wave of pain hit me, making me sick to my stomach.

"Max? Are you ok?" Iggy asked, sounding concerned.

I wanted to shout at him that no, I was not ok, thank you very much, but I just didn't have the strength. Maybe if Fang was here… Oh no. Fang. Hot tears leaked into my eyes, as much from that realization as from the pain in my wing.

_No, I will not cry. Crying is for the weak._

_Maximum, they all know you are anything but weak._ I hate that flipping Voice.

With a supreme effort of will, I made myself ignore it, and instead responded to my flock.

"I think I'm ok-ish." I replied to Iggy. My voice sounded wimpy and pathetic in my ears.

He looked about a dubious as a bird-kid could be.

I rolled onto my stomach, and the agony that I had felt earlier was reduced to a slow, grinding throb. Nudge and Angel gasped.

"Hey Max, I think you broke your wing." Nudge said. I cautiously turned my head, extending my wing as much as I dared.

It wasn't pretty.

My right wing was drawn back at an extremely awkward angle, four bloody stripes running across its length. Dried blood encrusted the feathers, turning my usually tawny plumage a deep maroon.

"Oh no." I muttered. "Oh no, no, no." How the hell was I supposed to rescue Fang with a broken wing?

_Voice? Any suggestions?_ Ok, I hate that damn Voice, but this was an extreme situation.

_You need to set your wing, so it heals properly._

"Hey guys?" I said. "Someone needs to put my wing back in position, so it can heal."

The girls and Gazzy shrunk away. Just because they had dealt with blood before didn't mean they liked it.

Iggy sighed. "I'll do it, you squeamish little girlies." He grabbed both parts of my wing and wrenched it back into place with a crunch. I let out a short yell, then stopped as the pain died down immediately. My head felt much clearer. I maneuvered into a sitting position. My legs hurt too, and I wasn't sure if they would support my weight just yet.

"Hey, uh, Max, there's some blood on your… pants." I had never heard Nudge sound so hesitant.

"What?" I said, looking down. "You've seen bloo- oh."

I had just met another relative- Aunt Flo.

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**Ok, I feel a wee bit sorry for Max there. Is it just me, or is she having the worst day EVER? I'm sorry it's so short, but it sets everything up perfectly for the next chapter. I'll try to update later today. **


	6. Plans

**This chapter needs no intro.**

**Disclaimer: Do I look like a MAN to you! (the answer is no)**

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Ok, was it just me, or was I having the worst day ever. Hmmm, let's see… 

1.Beeping alarm clock.

2.Tripping on Fang's shirt

3.Wearing Fang's shirt

4.Iggy's jokes

5.The Talk with Angel

6.More of Iggy's jokes

7.Fang getting kidnapped

8.Broken wing

9.The monthly curse

Yep, I'd say that pretty much qualifies me for the "Worst Day Ever" award. I'm so thrilled. Not.

"Um, Nudge, could you maybe fly to a drugstore and get me some… supplies?" I whispered.

She nodded. "Wow, Max, you're, like, having the worst day ever!" She sympathized.

I rolled my eyes. "Please just go." Nudge went. I got slowly and painfully to my feet, then went about the business of changing into clean pants, all the while grumbling under my breath about evil mad scientists who decided that bird-girls should get periods. I mean, jeez, couldn't they at least have given me one break from the hassles of normal girlhood?

* * *

"So, what are we going to do to rescue Fang?" Gazzy asked once Nudge had returned. 

"Well," I answered "I have to stay here until my wing is healed, but we don't want to lose too much time. You should go on ahead. I'll catch up later." This sparked immediate protest from the Flock. I let them rant for a minute, and then held up my hands for quiet.

"Look, I know you don't like it, and I know it isn't the best plan, but its our only shot at rescuing Fang before he gets to far away, unless someone has another idea."

Iggy seemed to look right at me. "Actually Max, I have one."

I gave him a quizzical glance. "Let's hear it then." I said, hoping it wasn't going to be another joke.

"Well, just after we rescued Angel, I thought it might be a good idea to put a tracker on each of us, in case it happened again. I made a few in New York, and I was testing them on certain flock members."

"And Fang had one?" I asked. I noticed that Iggy had a small metal box in his hand.

"No," he answered, rubbing his thumb over the box. "But the one that I put on you seems to be flying northeast."

* * *

Four days later, we were up in the air, wind streaming past my face. My wing was almost as good as new, although I was going to have some pretty wicked scars to add to my collection. 

"Hey guys, adjust course 57 degrees east." Iggy called, box in hand. We did as he suggested, flying in a loose formation. Total was in my arms. I couldn't stop looking at the hole where Fang should have been. I missed his presence. He was my voice of reason, my security net. With Fang around, I knew that someone was watching all of our backs. A selfish part of me was mad at Fang for getting captured and leaving me by myself, but it was a small part.

"Hey Max, I'm hungry." Nudge said.

"Ok, we'll stop and get something to eat as soon as we cross the US border." I answered. I had been pushing them, going as long as they possibly could without rest or food. Anxiety and urgency were pressing on me. We had waited too long. Who knew what horrors the white coats had done to Fang already?

* * *

Fang was currently in the dark. The cold, wet, disinfectant-smelling dark. He knew he must be in an Itex laboratory someplace, but where, he couldn't even guess. He stretched a hand out and waved it in front of his face. Nothing. 

_Oh no! Did they make me blind, like Iggy?_ He thought urgently. He flailed his arms and legs, looking for something to push off of, but to no avail.

_Guess I'm stuck._ He thought. If only Max were here… Oh, Max. She would be going crazy with worry by now. The memory of her face came to him. He had meant what he said, in that tree. She really was beautiful. The memory kept replaying itself, over and over, followed by others. He was soon finding it difficult to keep even a single thought straight. Was Max real? Or was she a movie character? Or a book character? Someone he had seen on TV? He thought Max was real. No, he was sure Max was real. She would be coming to save him from this evil.

_She had better get here soon._ That was Fang's last conscious thought before he slipped into the fuzzy world of dreams and memories.

* * *

I let out a sigh of pleasure as I bit into my hamburger. I hadn't admitted it to myself, but I had been hungry too. We were all gathered around the plastic, fast-food table, happily stuffing our faces. 

"Isn't that cannibalism?" Total asked Gazzy, who was eating a chicken burger

"Total, shhh!" Gazzy replied with his mouth full. "There are other people here."

I scanned the room, looking for Erasers. It was tough to tell them apart from the crowd these days, except, of course, when they were morphed. All I saw were children and their parents, no one over ten or under thirty five. So far, so good.

Iggy frowned, tapping the device he had built. "I think I've lost the signal." he said.

"It was stationary for a while then it died on me." He shook the box lightly. "Nothing's broken."

"How sturdy are those things?" I asked, still eating ravenously.

Iggy shrugged. "It should hold out… unless it got wet somehow."A I chewed on my bottom lip, puzzled. "Well, do you remember where the last signal came from?" I queried.

He nodded, a look of concentration on his face. "I should be able to lead us there."

* * *

**A bit more Faxness should be coming later. Sorry if that or Chapter Five sounded a little Miggy-ish. There is no intentional Miggy in this fic. Please review, criticism welcome.**


	7. Can't think of a chapter title

**Sorry about slow update, posted Max's Revenge to make up for lack of inspiration. I am going to add more drama as this goes on, especially after they rescue Fang. Once again (and I say this so often it's become a cliché) thanks, reviewers. **

**Disclaimer: I wish**

* * *

Fang lay suspended in the inky fluid, reliving all the horrors of his past. Endless rounds of testing, injections and surgery blended together, becoming one long string of nightmares. 

Through the fog of confusion and hallucinations, one clear thought emerged to him.

_Max, save me, come save me. Quick Max, save me quick._ The panicked thought repeated itself in his mind, sometimes in a whisper, sometimes booming, until even that very concept was nothing more than a reverberation, echoing meaninglessly. A shaft of light pierced the darkness in which Fang reclined, burning his retinas. He screamed, then shut his mouth quickly as the sound brought extreme pain to his ears. Suddenly, even the sound of his own, ragged breathing was much too loud to handle. He could hear the beating of his heart, feel the rush of blood through his veins, and it all brought agony with it.

"You idiot! You brought us Subject Five, not Subject Eleven! No more mistakes will be tolerated, Ari!" The sound of that voice ripped through his skull, and suddenly Fang wanted nothing more but to die, to die and be free from all the hurt that was coursing through him. Then the light disappeared, and Fang was left yet again in darkness.

* * *

"Hey Max, can we land now?" Angel asked. She sounded dead tired. How long had it been since we last landed? Three hours ago? I glanced at my watch. 

_Holy crap! We had been in the air for eight hours? _

"Ok, everyone, were going to rest soon!" I said. They nodded wearily. I angled myself downward, diving steeply through the clouds. We had just emerged from the large foggy masses when I saw it: an abandoned barn. Perfect.

"Hey guys, abandoned barn, down at one o'clock!" I called. I swooped in through a window, landing in a pile of moldy hay. The others arrived momentarily, Iggy with his fingers on Gazzy's ankle. Total jumped out of my arms and onto the floor.

"I smell sheep!" he exclaimed, his black, doggy eyes bright, and went off in search of the scent.

"I'll take first watch, you guys get some sleep. Ig, how close are we to Itex?" I said.

"Umm… not far, it's due west." He replied, yawning.

I settled down near the open window, untucking my wings slightly. Sitting there, watching the sun set, I felt my eyelids drooping. I yanked them up again.

_C'mon Max, focus. Stay awake for Fang, Fang needs you. _

My eyelids sagged again, so I patted my cheeks lightly. If only I had some coffee right about now.

_Stay awake, Max. Stay awake..._

* * *

_I saw Fang, suspended in darkness. His eyes were closed, moving rapidly under their lids, as if he was dreaming. My view zoomed in, so far in that I could see around inside his head. I could see his thoughts as he was thinking them._

Max, hurry, come help. Save me, Max, quick! _The thought bounced around for a while, then eventually dissolved in to fog._

_You need to wake up. __Said an all too familiar voice. __You need to wake up RIGHT NOW._

And what if I don't? _I asked it._

_Then you will too late to save him._

* * *

I jerked upright. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, shedding its last rays. I looked over my flock. All present, all fast asleep. I went over to Angel, gently shaking her. She opened her blue eyes, looking sweetly into my face.

"Max?" she said.

"I need you to wake the others, as quickly as you can." I said softly in her ear.

Angel nodded, her face serious. Seconds later, I heard her voice in my mind, "talking" very loudly. _WAKE UP! _

The other three flock members jumped, each one upright within seconds.

Nudge started talking "Oh my God Angel, why did you wake us up so fast? Are there Erasers? But wouldn't Max warn us about Erasers first? Oh, hi Max, what's going on? Is something wrong? Did you have another headache or what? I-" Nudge stopped when I raised my eyebrows at her.

"I mean, um, so, what's going on?" she asked, somewhat sheepish.

"We have to get moving. The Voice says that we have to go now, or were going to be too late." I said, shrugging my backpack over my shoulders. The flock imitated me, and together we took off, flying rapidly west as the last blush of sunlight faded from the sky.

* * *

**I seem to be reverting to authentic chapter length (i.e. short). Sorry about that. :D I have no idea about chapter 8, so that might take a while. **


	8. Rescue at last

**Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.**

**Disclaimer: Duh.**

* * *

A shed. One, lousy, dilapidated, little shed sitting in the middle of a cornfield. That is where Iggy's directions led us. 

"Are you sure this is where you last got the signal?" I asked.

Iggy gave me a glare that would peel paint. "Of course I'm sure. If I was unsure, I would have said something by now, wouldn't I?"

"Well crap." I said. We had got this far, only to come up empty. I just have the most fulfilling life, don't I?

_Things are not always what they seem. Sometimes you need to look below the surface._

_What the hell is that supposed to mean?_ Not surprisingly, the Voice didn't answer.

I kicked the bottom of the shed door in frustration. It slowly swung open, revealing a faintly gleaming metal panel on the opposite wall.

_Hello. _I thought. Maybe we hadn't come up empty after all.

A metallic voice issued from the panel. "Input password." It said, green letters scrawling across its burnished steel face. I stepped up to it, and a touch pad appeared.

"Input password." it said again. I punched in "Itex".

"Incorrect. Please try again. You have four tries before security is notified." The voice sounded distinctly pleased with itself.

I tried "Institute for Higher Living" and "School". Both were incorrect. I had two tries left before they put Erasers on our trail. Wait a minute, what was I doing?

"Nudge, come here please." I said, and she hurried over.

"What, Max?" She said. She sounded as anxious as I felt.

"Can you sense the last password punched in this thing?" I said, motioning toward the device. Nudge paused, then ran her fingers lightly over the panel.

"Try the word forty-two, followed by a big H, big G, two little t's, then another big G"

I typed in the sequence, squinting to see through the darkness.

"Welcome to Itex Corp. bioengineering laboratory 6-24-7." The panel said. Then the shed creaked, shook and began to slide steadily underground.

"Get in the shed, quick!" I shouted, and Gazzy, Iggy and Angel bolted for the door, slipping in at the very last second. We continued to descend, the wood creaking and groaning eerily. The end of the elevator ride was marked by the arrival of bright fluorescent lighting and antiseptic smells. A plaintive wail sounded from somewhere, presumably from one of the experiments. I shuddered. This place was evoking some bad memories.

"Ok, here's the plan." I whispered. Four heads leaned in close to mine. "First, we run in there. Bust up anyone who gets in our way. They won't be expecting us, so we have surprise on our side. We find Fang, crack a few heads, then get back to this elevator, pronto. We don't want Erasers on our tail. Iggy, Gazzy, stay by the elevator. Make sure it doesn't turn into a trap."

They nodded, so I pushed the elevator door open and stepped out into the artificial light.

I was in a sort of entrance way, a featureless white room with a door at the other end. We walked right through, bursting out of the other end to surprise any potential guards on the other side. There were two Erasers across the room, facing the opposite direction. Angel dealt with those, making them run headfirst into a stainless steel counter. I smiled proudly at her, and she slapped me a silent high-five. We walked through that room, and emerged into yet another stark white room. Here, however, there was one principal difference: it was filled with cages. I bent down, scanning the faces within them as I walked quickly past. Some registered surprise, others anger, and still others nothing at all, but no face jumped out at me. I glanced up at Angel and Nudge. They both shook their heads. Fang wasn't in this room.

We moved on quickly, checking room after room. We met Erasers from time to time, but never so many that they couldn't be taken care of. We didn't see many whitecoats, but we were avoiding the labs. I suppose even evil genetic scientists need sleep sometimes. Finally, we came to a room with no door leading off of it. I hoped that Fang was in here; otherwise we'd have to retrace our steps, all the way back to the door of the elevator. This room contained a large metal tank, sunk into the floor. The rest of the room was taken up by rows of shelves containing sciency-looking metal instrument.

Angel tugged on my sleeve. "Max," she whispered, "Ari is right around the corner, with two whitecoats."

I swore under my breath, and ducked behind the tank, just as Ari and the whitecoats stepped into view. One of them was Jeb.

"You know," he said, "It may not have been such a blunder, grabbing the wrong experiment. The rest of that group was picked up by the microphone hidden in the elevator not fifteen minutes ago." He stepped over to the tank I was hidden behind.

"Frankly Max, I'm disappointed."

_So much for the element of surprise,_ I thought, standing up. I gave Jeb my sweetest, most polite smile.

Then I decked him.

The response was instantaneous. Jeb staggered back, nose bleeding, as Ari lunged at me. I dodged, my side coming perilously close to his claws. I swung around, snapping a roundhouse kick to his chest. He stepped back. From behind me, I heard Nudge unscrewing the top of the tank. Ari came at me again, arms raised. He moved to hit my stomach, but instead went for my collarbone. I ducked, narrowly avoiding getting brained. I swung a few punches, landing an uppercut to the jaw, then kicked out, catching Ari between the legs. He swore at me and doubled over.

"Max, we got Fang!" Nudge said. I ran to help them pull a shell-shocked Fang from the tank. He was shivering and sodden, his jaw clenched.

"Max." He whispered, his voice barely audible. "I knew you'd come." He slumped, unconscious but breathing.

"Nudge, grab his shoulders, I got the feet." I said. She did as I suggested, picking up Fang by the armpits. Together we ran, stumbling through the doorway as Ari lunged after us.

"You're tired. You're going to sleep." Angel said in that creepy little girl voice, and Ari obediently curled up on the ground, snoring. I almost giggled, but thought better of it, as Nudge and I ran awkwardly on.

Security had apparently been notified, because the place was swarming with Erasers. I tucked the still-unconscious Fang into a relatively safe corner and stood there, trying to pummel a way out. Iggy and Gazzy burst into the room, scratched and bruised. Even with them on our side, we were badly out numbered. I returned my attention to the fight as a hairy fist collided with my lip, causing it to split open and bleed. I punched back, catching the Eraser upside the head. I roundhouse kicked another behind the knees, then moved on.

* * *

"Max! This way!" Iggy shouted a few minutes later, and I grabbed Fang, running past the Erasers. God, the boy was heavy. The six of us sped through a door to find ourselves face to face with three more whitecoats. An experiment lay strapped to a stainless steel gurney, its intestines spilling loosely out of a cut in its stomach. The experiment weakly raised its head and mewled pitifully at us. I shivered with disgust. These people were sick, treating a live being this way. 

"Move it or lose it." I growled, awkwardly shoving aside the whitecoat out of our path. "You really, really don't want to mess with me today."

The whitecoats fled.

* * *

Sitting outside, in the barn where we had rested before, we examined each other for serious injuries and rested. I'll assume you know how most of our fights end, and skip the revolting details. 

"Well, that was interesting." I remarked through my split lip.

Nudge gave me a one-eyed glare, her other swollen shut and purple. "You can say that again." she remarked. From his bed of hay, Fang groaned and opened his eyes, squinting.

"Max?" He said. His voice was quiet and weak. "That you?"

I walked over to his makeshift bed. "It's me."

He clapped his hands over his ears and grimaced.

"You ok?" I asked, concerned. Yes, I know it was a stupid question, but I had to ask.

"Don't talk," he whispered, pain contorting his features. "Everything hurts."

"Oh. I'm sorry." I was whispering also.

"Stop!" he cried. "It hurts!"

With a compassionate look and a smile, I walked away, puzzled.

* * *

**OK, I had no idea how to end that chapter, I know that sucks. Sorry about long delay, I went to camp for a week. Summer vacation, woohoo!**

**I (heart) reviews. **


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